Thill-coupling.



No. 682,09I. i Patented Sept. 3, |901.

G. W. LESTER.

THILL CUUPLING.

mm1 t um dAp' 4 1901 (N0 Medela) with said pin.

UNITED STATES GEORGE W. LESTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,091, dated September 3, 1901.

Application led April 4, 1901. Serial No. 54,324. (No model.)

l'o LLZZ 207mm/ it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. LESTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thill-Couplings; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, -and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to thill-couplings.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, durable, and comparatively inexpensive thill-coupling which shall prevent rattling and which shall possess quick shifting qualities, whereby the shafts or pole may be quickly disengaged from the axle whenever occasion requires.

"With these and other objects in View the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts,which will be fully described,and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved thill-coupling, showing the thill-iron connected thereto. Fig. 2 is a similar view, the thill-iron being removed and its hinged ear in elevated position. Fig. 3 is a similar View of the antirattler-spring. Fig. et is a fragmentary view of one end of the pivot-pin for the eye of the thill-iron. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the outer end of the hinged ear to show its curved slot. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through the latch to show its beveled lower end.

In the drawings, 1 denotes the couplinghead, which is adapted to be secured to the vehicle-axle in any4 wellknown or desired manner, and 2 and 3 denote the ears of the head, one of which is fixed thereto and preferably cast integral therewith, while the other is hinged or pivoted at 4 to said head to swing in a vertical plane and is provided with a curved slot which engages the recess of the pin 6, with which the thill-eye 7 of the thill S is engaged. IVhen engaged with the pin 6, lateral strain is resisted by the shoulders 9 and 10, forming the ends of the recess, and vertical movement of this ear is prevented by a pivoted latch 11, provided with a spring 12 for holding its lower end into engagement The lower end of this latch on its inner side is beveled to correspond with the beveled outer end of the pivot-pin, so as to enable the latch in the downward-swinging movement of the hinged ear to ride over the beveled end of the pin and hook or catch thereunder. The ear is preferably provided with a finger-piece 13, while the latch is provided with a similar finger-piece 14, whereby when both finger-pieces are grasped the latch may be disengaged from the pivot-pin and the hinged ear swung upward.

15 denotes a spring constructed as shown in Fig. 3 and having a lateral extension 1G, which is secured to the thill-head by a bolt 17. This spring is formed with an upwardlyprojecting portion 18, looped and coniined between the eye of the thill-iron and a transverse pin 19 carried by the hinged ear, and exerts its tension or energy against the thilliron to prevent rattling thereof.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, mode of operation, and advantages of my invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the forni, proportion, and details of construction may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of a coupling-head provided with a xed and a hinged ear, the fixed ear being provided with a pivot-pin and the GEORGE W. LESTER.

Witnesses:

H. A. KIMBALL, EvERE'rT LESTER. 

